Trump says OPEC ‘monopoly’ must get prices down

U.S. President Donald Trump linked American support for Middle Eastern countries to oil prices on Thursday as he again urged OPEC to lower prices. “We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!” Trump wrote on Twitter. (This version of the story has been refiled to add quote marks in headline to reflect that President Trump in his tweet called OPEC a monopoly. OPEC is an organization of oil producers but not a monopoly.)